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Billboard: Color TV Film Won't Oust B&W (1953)

Submitted by Leo Klein on Wed, 2/13/13 (7:46pm)

Tint Talk : Color TV Film Won't Oust B&W

HOLLYWOOD, July 11. -- Like motion pictures, television will continue to use a great amount of black and white film even when color becomes a regular feature in the new medium. This is the opinion expressed by veteran TV producer Jerry Fairbanks prior to his departure for Europe where he's filming a public relations film for Miller Brewing Company.

Expense of filming in color and the superiority of black and white for certain types of productions are the factors which will dictate use of b.&w. for TV, Fairbanks declared. Fairbanks cited the motion picture industry's predominant use of black and white film despite the advent of color.

Color filming is between 25 and 35 per cent more expensive than b.&w., Fairbanks pointed out, while color release prints are between four and five times as expensive. This factor, in addition to what he termed the superiority of b.&w. for low key mystery dramas, will limit the application of color film for showing on television.